Baby Blue
by AshesTheTerrible
Summary: After getting their technical blown to smithereens Axton now has to deal with one very angry siren, and one even angrier snow storm. The two get snowed in, and are forced to share a sleeping bag...for the sake of body heat of course.


"Oh c'mon darlin' would you stop with the cold shoulder!?" The sandy haired man called out to the woman storming through the snow blanketed wasteland several paces ahead of him.

There was an audible curse from her direction and Axton merely sighed in defeat, his shoulders dropping slightly as he adjusted his shotgun.

"If you haven't noticed this entire hellhole is COLD! My shoulder should be the least of your worries." Maya yelled, pausing only for a moment to shake an accusative finger in the commando's general direction.

"It's an expression…" Axton snarled rolling his eyes.

"I KNOW IT'S AN EXPRESSION!" Maya snapped, her voice reverberating off the massive walls of ice surrounding them for as far as the eye could see.

The blue haired siren promptly turned back around, her snow caked boots thumping heavily through the deep powder they were currently wading in. Axton huffed out lowly, his hands gripping his weapon just a little tighter, trying desperately to work feeling back into the tips of his fingers.

"This is all your fucking fault." The siren snarled as she stuffed her pistol back into her holster, tucking her hands deep into the bellies of her pockets in a futile attempt to keep them warm.

"Ok c'mon how was I supposed to know there were three badasses…with rocket launchers…" Axton mumbled almost to himself.

He could see a ripple of tension cross through the siren's shoulders and Axton mentally cringed.

He was just asking to have his head phase-locked clean off.

"I TOLD you not to ram the technical into that god damned bandit camp Axton! It had already taken a beating from those bullymongs you decided to turn into roadkill steaks!" Maya barked throwing her hands up skyward.

"I thought it was a small camp…" Axton defended quietly.

Maya paused once more, neck snapping in the commando's direction as her grey eyes tore holes through his very being.

"Well, it wasn't Axton. It was a big camp. A very, very BIG camp. And now we are stuck out here until we can find another god damned catch-a-ride station, which who the fuck knows where that is!" Maya snarled shaking slightly, her tattoos glowering with her untamed anger.

The two of them stood there for several moments, the frigid breeze whipping around them like a living thing.

Maya groaned out in exasperation when she was met by only biting silence from her comrade and turned heel to keep moving, as if just looking at the broad man disgusted her.

The commando looked skyward, his emerald eyes searching over the rakk circling overhead, eyeing the ebony creatures with an ever wary expression. At least the leathery winged beasts hadn't seemed to notice them just yet. The last thing he needed was a flock of screeching, biting, sky rats on his back on top of everything else. It seemed Pandora had taken a pity on him in some respect. Maybe this stupid planet had decided he had enough on his plate with the entire…being stranded out in the midst of The Fridge, walking through biting snow…without a vehicle. Because he'd gotten said vehicle blown to smithereens.

Axton grumbled to himself.

Frozen wastelands, an angry siren, and his balls in danger of freezing off…he was pretty sure this was a new low for a typical day on Pandora.

A low rumble kissed his ears from behind like an old, unwanted lover come back from the dead. Axton froze, slowly turning on the heel of his boot as his wide eyes traced up to the blackened skies looming just behind them.

 _Fantastic._ He thought to himself in dismay.

Well now he had to add 'impending, monstrous storm' to his list.

"Maya." Axton grumbled, turning his attention to the still angrily marching siren.

She didn't seem to respond, the young woman too caught up in cursing him, Pandora and everything on it to hear Axton's declaration of her own name.

"MAYA!" Axton barked.

"Goddamn it WHAT AXTON!?" Maya yelled, her teeth flashing and her brows knitted together heavily.

Axton folded his large arms across his chest and huffed, pointing one finger skyward, bringing attention to the forming clouds churning the dark overhead.

Maya looked skyward, then back down at Axton, her mouth bobbing open just slightly as if in disbelief.

"You have got to be kidding me." Maya groaned slapping a palm to her forehead.

"Afraid not darlin'." Axton chuckled shaking his head.

Maya opened one eye and settled it on the blonde.

"I hate you so much right now. So, so, so much." Maya whimpered as she wrapped her slender arms around herself, shivering slightly with the cold.

"More than usual?" Axton snorted as he closed the gap between them.

Maya simply groaned louder in response and rolled her eyes.

The commando shucked his heavy jacket off his shoulders in a few short motions and offered the over-worn material to the siren. Maya looked at the offering as if it were a newborn Thresher that might lash out and bite her at any second. Axton thrust the clothing toward her with a bit more insistence.

"Oh c'mon just take the damn thing." Axton grumbled giving Maya a stern look.

Maya shot a ferocious glance at her fellow vault hunter and snatched the jacket out of Axton's fingers. She slung the heavy material over her shoulders and sighed out in relief. She may have hated her counterpart with every fiber of her being, but the extra warmth from the lent clothing was a regretfully welcome reprieve. Maya nestled her chin down into the thick collar and sighed out as she zipped it all the way up to her neck.

"Thanks." Maya near snarled as Axton brushed past her briskly.

"You're welcome princess." Axton grunted as he flicked some falling snow out of his sandy locks.

Maya eyed the soldier's broad shoulders keenly, her gaze catching on the exposed breadth of his skin, the commando left in only his off-white undershirt after shedding his top layer. Maya chewed her bottom lip for a moment, willing her feet to follow in the deep prints the big man was leaving in his wake.

"You're not cold?" Maya questioned softly as her slender hands found home in the borrowed pockets of Axton's jacket.

"I'll live." Axton reassured as he stole a glance over his shoulder at the siren following closely behind him.

"Why you actually worried about me baby blue?" Axton chuckled.

"Oh my god I told you not to call me that. And no, but if you freeze into a popsicle then who's gunna have my back out here?" Maya growled lowly.

Axton barked out a dry laugh in response to her sassy response.

"Right. Gotcha." Axton nodded as he turned his head once more, focused on getting them away from the brewing storm as fast as their feet would carry them.

Maya huffed out and pressed her nose into the warm material now wrapped around her. The jacket was several sizes too big for the small woman, the old clothing swallowing her like a dress more than anything else. She inhaled slowly, catching drifts of blood, dirt, maybe hints of sweat, all interlaced with faded cologne that clung to the seams. The stains and faded edges were only homage to just how many battles the thing had seen, how many enemies had bled on it, and how many beatings it had taken.

The siren lagged behind her partner, her feet heavy and her patience with the whole situation wearing thin. They'd been walking for hours, and the storm at their backs was slowly creeping closer, its talons outstretched and teeth ready. Maya grimaced up at the sky, forcing her feet to keep moving as her gaze lingered on the angry storm.

"We better hunker down soon. That storm is gunna get us before we get to the nearest catch-a-ride station." Axton sighed out in an almost defeated fashion as he looked to his echo map.

Maya groaned out in an over dramatic fashion.

"Great, I'm stuck with you until this storm blows over. Wonderful." Maya snarled.

Axton gave her a less than amused expression.

The commando nodded his head in the direction of a settlement just ahead, the rickety structures jutting out of the ice like weak beacons of hope.

"Looks like that's gunna be our best bet." Axton grunted bleakly.

"Perfect." Maya groaned.

After a short check around the perimeter the two vault hunters found the area to be lacking of enemies, nothing left but the old structures that once held life. Axton grabbed the old door handle and turned it, giving the rotting wood a good shove with his shoulder. A burst of cold air whipped into the tiny room, the building groaning with the new activity. He stood in the doorway for a moment, accessing the structural integrity of the small shack, eyes distrusting as he soaked it in. Finally the man gave a sigh and entered the space, his boots clunking heavily against the bloodstained boards.

The building was empty save for several crumpled magazines tossed into the corner and a small fire pit standing center. It was clear that the place had not been lived in for quite some time, and judging by the blood smears on the floor whoever had once called this home hadn't exactly met a timely end.

Maya followed her partner inside, her lip twitching upward just a tad as her glistening eyes darted over the poor excuse for shelter. She'd slept in a lot of less than ideal places in her time spent on Pandora, but this little stain of a structure had to have been amongst the worst. Several lingering smells instantly assaulted her nostrils as she closed the door behind her, shutting them off from the forming storm.

"I hope this place doesn't fall apart when that storm hits." Maya scoffed, grimacing at the dusty flooring.

Axton brashly beat some of the snow off his boots and shrugged his shoulders up nonchalantly.

"Old girl has held up this long, hopefully she'll be good for one more night." Axton grumbled as he went about kneeling down before the pit of coals, coaxing the leftover wood into a neat pile.

In a few short movements Axton had a small fire growing in the belly of the old circular space, the commando warming the breadth of his palms against the licking flames. He sighed out at the warmth and shifted his weight slightly. His green eyes followed the blue haired woman across the room, the siren slowly going about unclipping her gear and settling her guns down on the floor across the fire from the sandy haired man.

He watched her keenly as practiced hands made such each and every weapon was loaded to the gills and settled within reach. Always cautious, always alert, that was just how she was. That's how you had to be on this hellacious planet.

Maya gently settled her echo down next to her weapons, ammo, and relics then opened the belly of her overly full pack. Her witty fingers tugged out the sorry excuse for a sleeping bag she had tucked in its confines and rolled the patched and frayed thing out across the flooring.

Her eyes refused to meet with the commando's her anger for the entire ordeal plainly painted across her slender face. It wasn't to say that Axton didn't _feel_ bad, because he did. He supposed only time would tell if she chose to just off him in his sleep. He damn well deserved it he was going to be honest. This poor excuse for shelter up against that beast of a storm was not the ideal situation, and he deserved all the ill wishes that were swirling behind the siren's grey orbs.

He sighed as he gently prodded the lively coals with the heel of his boot, melting away some of the ice clinging to the heavy footwear.

With that he began mimicking the siren's motions and unloaded his own weaponry, unrolling his sleeping bag, which was in just slightly better shape than his partners'. He plunked himself down on the old material and gently began slipping off his combat boots, unlacing ties and straps until he could shed them onto the wooden floor with two dull 'thuds'.

His gaze flicked across the fire to the siren once more, his face sullen and apologetic.

Axton had been trying to get the siren alone for months now…but this was not exactly what he'd had in mind.

"Hey…" Axton grunted, the sound immediately getting Maya's attention.

Her angry gaze settled on him hard, her hands working apart her own footwear as she huddled closer to the fire in vain.

"What?" Maya snapped.

"I'm sorry for getting us into this." Axton replied heavily, letting his shoulders fall slightly.

Maya stared at him for a few moments, as if having trouble processing the fact that _Axton_ was actually apologizing to her. If there was one thing that Axton was not good at, it was damn sure apologies. It was like he couldn't just muster them up through his swollen ego and hard headed nature, so this really did come as quite the jarring shock to the blue haired woman.

Maya made an amused little noise in the back of her throat and cross her arms over her slender chest.

"Oh, I couldn't hear you blondie. Better speak up. All that noise from our technical exploding into a million pieces has my hearing a little shot today." Maya quipped, overdramatically cupping her ear and leaning forward to further play up the whole 'being deaf' thing.

Axton gave the young woman a less than amused look and grit his teeth up.

He cleared his throat louder than what was really needed.

"I'm _sorry."_ Axton annunciated his sorry with a roll of his eyes.

Maya leaned back, a smug expression slapped across her face and she narrowed her eyes him.

"Hmph. I was beginning to wonder if that word was in your vocabulary or not." Maya chuckled.

"I can admit when I'm wrong." Axton grumbled darkly.

Maya cocked an eyebrow at him and snorted.

"Right." Maya huffed.

"Hey, don't I get any points for the attempt?" Axton said shaking his head and breaking a small smile.

"Maybe a couple. Got anything to eat in your pack? That might earn you more points." Maya sighed as she fixated her gaze out the small window to their left, frowning as she wind began to rattle the glass.

Axton dug out a small packet of vacuum sealed mush and tossed it in Maya's direction.

The siren outwardly sighed and ripped the plastic open, swiping a finger through the mush and testing it warily before deciding it was actually somewhat edible. Maya fell silent as she focused on the food before her, her groaning stomach begging for more even when she'd finished off the small container.

She tossed it to the side and looked up at the commando.

"What about you? You should eat." Maya said flatly.

Axton offered her a stupidly charming grin as he stretched himself out on his sleeping bag.

"Dunno how long this storm is gunna have us held up here. Better start rationing now." Axton said simply.

Maya frowned at him and shrugged her shoulders up.

"Fine, whatever." She grumbled as she unzipped her sleeping bag and slid herself into its confines.

"I'm a big boy Maya, don't worry bout me so much darlin'." Axton teased slyly.

Maya pursed her lips up in distaste and glared at him.

The commando chuckled and unzipped his own sleeping bag, wriggling down into the makeshift bedding with a sigh. His combat pants crinkled uncomfortably around him, the blonde grimacing with discomfort. He was accustomed to sleeping in the warmer parts of Pandora where less clothing was ideal. He'd become rather fond of stripping off nearly every particle of his clothing before flopping into bed at Sanctuary, so the layers were immediately cumbersome. He sighed and quickly went about peeling his frayed pants from his legs. It didn't matter how cold it was, he was not going to get any sleep with the things constricting his legs.

Maya watched the commando wriggling and shifting beneath his sleeping bag with confused eyes.

"What _are_ you doing?" Maya snarled.

"Jerking off." Axton snorted wryly.

"Oh my god Axton." Maya snarled throwing her sleeping bag over her head.

"Oh it was a joke. I'm taking these godforsaken pants off. Can't sleep with them on." Axton grinned as he tossed the combat pants out of his sleeping bag and onto the floor.

"Please tell me you have something on under them." Maya groaned from her bedding.

"Naw." Axton joked.

Maya gave him a less than amused glance from beneath the covers of her sleeping bag.

"Ok c'mon baby blue, don't be so serious. Yes ok, I have underwear on, happy?" Axton said rolling his eyes and propping his head up with his palm.

"I'm stuck in a snow storm with you, because YOU blew our vehicle up, and I can't feel my toes. I am the farthest thing from happy right now." Maya snarled.

Axton paused for a moment, eyes raking over the misshapen lump that was the siren as she curled up beneath her ragged bedding.

"You could climb in here with me and throw yours' on top of us. Body heat would help y'know." Axton offered genuinely.

"Not. On. Your. Life." Maya hissed as she turned her back to the commando, her blue locks barely peeking out of the top of her bag.

Axton shrugged nonchalantly and nestled down into the warmth of the soft layer of padding. Within moments the commando had drifted off into a hard sleep, his body and mind at ease knowing that at least for the evening they did not have to deal with bandits or monsters. Few enemies would brave a storm like this and most anything that wanted to eat them for lunch was hunkered down in crevices and holes like they were. For once the vault hunter was allowed a good night's sleep without having to worry about who would stay up to keep watch.

Maya felt her heart jump as the wind beat against the rickety structure around her and she groaned to herself lowly. She tugged her sleeping bag around her tighter, curling her legs in on herself to try and keep the biting cold from seeping into her bones in vain. She shivered slightly and cursed as the wind howled and the freezing temperatures slipped in through the old boards. The storm rattled the world around the building, the wood groaning and shifting, a piece of tin on the roof having come loose to knock wildly against the shelter. Maya listened to the constant rhythm of the tin beating and banging, trying to screw her eyes shut tightly.

A cold chill ran down the length of her spine, her body reacting by breaking out in uncomfortable goose-bumps. No matter how tightly she wrapped the flimsy material around her, she just couldn't seem to get warm.

Maya huffily peered out from between her sleeping bag zipper, her grey eyes wandering over the fire, which was still barely alive in its pit, small flames wispy and boneless against the frigid air. The fire's warmth was doing little for her, her fingertips still remaining numb and the shiver not shaking from her bones.

Amongst the barrage of other sounds, she could just barely make out the soft snoring noises drifting from the man curled across the fire. Maya frowned and shivered slightly, her teeth rattling together uncomfortably.

"God damn it." Maya hissed to herself in dismay.

"Axton." She whispered sharply.

" _Axton."_ She snarled a tad bit louder.

With that the commando was popping out of his slumber, sitting straight up out of his sleeping bag, pistol at the ready as his lethargic eyes swept the room.

"I-I'm up, I'm up!" Axton slurred in confusion.

Maya sat up with a roll of her pretty eyes and Axton cocked his head at her.

"What? Is the shack falling down?" Axton questioned as he lowered his weapon slightly, a large yawn breaking across his square features.

The clearly still half asleep man ran a heavy hand through his hair and blinked tiredly at the siren.

"No. I'm freezing my ass off over here." Maya huffed as she crawled out from beneath her bedding and marched over to where the commando laid, dragging her sleeping bag behind her angrily.

If there was one thing Maya hated…it was being wrong…especially being wrong in front of the cocky blonde.

Axton perked as he finally wrapped his slow brain around what was going on and offered a lopsided grin to the other vault hunter.

"Move over." Maya snapped as she avoided eye contact with the commando blatantly.

Axton did as instructed, cheekily making room for the bristling siren.

She huffily wriggled her slender body into the commando's sleeping bag, offering her back to him as she tossed the spare her over their forms. Axton tugged the warmth of the material up to his chin and shifted himself slightly.

Maya breathed out heavily, stiffening as the commando moved against her. She gritted her teeth up as she settled herself down, trying to ignore the other body stuffed so tightly next to her. The siren curled herself slightly, blue tendrils falling in a cascading halo around her head as she tucked the sleeping bag over the bridge of her nose.

She instantly hated how relieved she was to have the extra warmth around her, the chill that had plagued her simply dissipated against the combined body heat forming in the small space around them. She could feel Axton take a deep breath beside her, his lungs expanding with the intake of air, his back pressing against her.

Maya buried her lip between her teeth and fisted her hand, trying her hardest to simply ignore the mass of muscle invading her personal space.

It was just one night.

That was all.

She could survive one night packed in next to the idiot of a man.

Maya felt her blood boil as her mind traveled back to the fact that she would not even _be here_ if it hadn't been for Axton's ever present need to be absolutely reckless in every sense of the word. She expelled a slow breath. No need in dwelling on it now, it damn sure wouldn't get her out of her current situation any faster.

Axton rolled onto the flat plain of his back with a heavy grunt. His eyes were heavy with the need for slumber, but his current company had his mind racing and churning, dangling sleep just out of his reach. He yawned and cracked his neck, trying to screw his eyes shut and force his body back into a good doze. The wind scratched and snarled at the walls, shaking the latched door like some living thing begging to get in out of the cold. The blizzard was hungry, vicious and wild.

The two of them laid there for several silent moments before Maya rolled onto her own back with a huff.

Axton lazily traced his eyes over the siren, watching as she blinked up at the ceiling, the young woman obviously having trouble finding slumber as well.

"Can't sleep?" Axton whispered in a gravely, sleep laced tone.

Maya sighed and shook her head slowly.

Her heart stuttered with every bang and clatter that reverberated through the small shack, the storm sounding like it was determined to rip the feeble thing apart with its teeth. She didn't like storms. She never really had. Ever since she was a small thing they had been a sore spot for her. The noises were too abrasive, too shocking, to loud. It was an uncontrollable force of nature greater than even her siren magic. A storm was something completely feral, something that could never be tamed, nor could it be predicted. Storms brought damage and death. On her home planet the storms had been vicious, but nothing like the ferocity of the ones that rolled across the Pandoran landscape.

"I hate storms." Maya hissed, almost to herself.

Axton cocked an eyebrow at her and he folded one arm up behind his head as his free fingers found home on the familiar metal of his dog tags. He rolled the little things beneath his calloused finger pads absent mindedly.

"Could be worse, we could be caught in a storm like this on Promethea." Axton grunted with a shrug of his shoulders.

This got a small snigger out of the young woman, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"I've never been to Promethea." Maya whispered, her eyes trailing over the old boards above where she laid.

"You aint missin' much. It's even more of a shit stain than this place is." Axton chortled.

Maya turned her head toward the other man and gave him a curious expression.

"You've been to Promethea?" Maya questioned in curiosity.

"Correction, I've been to the bars and brothels on Promethea. Didn't really see much else than that. Just stopped there overnight to refuel the ships before passing through to Thrace." Axton grinned shaking his head.

Maya made a disgusted little noise and shoved Axton's shoulder.

"Gross." Maya giggled.

There was a pause between them, their light laughter suddenly swallowed by the roaring storm. Maya's gaze traveled to the small dog tags between Axton's fingers, her pupils focusing on the one thing that did not belong with the rest. The ring. A tiny golden band with a single diamond perched upon it. She'd always wondered about the delicate little thing, but had never really found the time to ask.

"Is there a story behind that?" Maya asked softly.

Axton's fingers paused momentarily and he looked to Maya with a confused expression.

Maya nodded toward the small piece of jewelry so safely nestled between his digits.

"The ring." Maya whispered.

Axton took in a large breath and held the small thing up, looking to it with a certain sense of fondness and regret.

"There's a story behind everything baby blue." Axton grinned, his eyes softening as he looked to his company.

Maya fake gagged at the nickname and a slow smile spread across the commando's features.

"I was married…a long time ago. Spent every dime I had on this stupid thing…turns out she wasn't so keen on Diamonds." Axton shrugged.

Maya watched the man's face with sudden intrigue.

She'd never really taken the eccentric commando to be the type to settle down with well… _anybody._ The only things he really seemed to express affection toward were his guns and his turret.

Axton seemed to hang on the siren's shocked expression and furrowed his brows together.

"What?" He grunted.

Maya shook her head and shrugged.

"I never took you for the marrying type?" Maya said innocently.

"Yeah well…guess I really wasn't cut out for it in the end anyway." Axton huffed as he let the small object drop back down to its resting place on his chest.

"That's why I'm here y'know…she gave me a not so subtle warning that I had a date with the firing squad. So that's how I ended up here. Got kicked outta the military and kicked outta my marriage all in one night." Axton sighed.

Maya made a pained noise and scrunched up her nose.

"Ouch. That's pretty rough." Maya grimaced.

"But I mean think of it like a really long vacation. You get to see all the lovely sights on Pandora. Y'know killer worms, maniacs that will cook you for dinner if given the chance, oh and barren wastelands as far as the eye can see!" Maya said in a teasing tone.

The commentary dragged a rough chuckle out of the broad man's chest.

"Don't forget the acid lakes, disgusting roach motels and gigantic flesh eating bugs." Axton replied with a grin.

"The perfect getaway spot! Can't beat scenic Pandora!" Maya sniggered.

"We sound like one of Handsome Jack's terrible advertisements trying to get people to come live in that stupid city of his'." Axton said slowly.

Maya nodded, her laughter dying down as the two of them laid there in the bundle of covers. The bitter cold was kept at bay by the warmth beneath the sleeping bags. She closed her eyes for a moment, her elbow gently brushing against the commando's. His bare skin was warm to the touch, radiating with a comforting feeling that had her pulse rising just slightly.

She and Axton butted heads more often than any of the other vault hunters. Both of them were leaders, determined to take control over the group. They were both strong willed and in many ways almost too alike for their own good. Most days she wanted to rip his head off, but it was moments like this that she really appreciated the dirty blonde. He may have been as stubborn as all hell…but he was kind.

Maya felt her cheeks radiating with heat and she mentally scolded herself.

There had been several times she'd found her eyes lingering on the commando, soaking in his quirky nature in a way that was not just curious. She'd found herself lingering on the sound of his voice, the tenor of his laugh, and the mischievous glint that always hid in his emerald orbs.

Now being so close to him…she couldn't stop her misbehaving mind from wandering.

The man was strong, and broad, his form seeming only that much bigger as they shared the small sleeping space. She could feel every movement he made, every breath he took.

"I'm sorry though, about your wife." Maya said finally, trying to break up her thoughts quickly.

"Ex-wife." Axton grinned.

Maya narrowed her eyes at him and huffed.

"Right. Ex-wife." She corrected.

"Eh I can't really blame her. I was a little more than a handful. I wasn't exactly the best husband." Axton shrugged.

"You are kind of pigheaded, and reckless, and impulsive." Maya listed off.

Axton frowned in her direction.

"Alright, alright, way to add insult to injury there darlin'." Axton grumbled.

Maya cringed sheepishly.

"Sorry. But I mean…pigheaded in an endearing kind of way." She said with a shrug.

Axton grinned.

"I don't think much about me is very endearing at this point sweetheart." Axton replied.

Maya was silent for a moment.

What kind of woman would a man such as Axton fall for? Maya's brain wandered, her eyebrows drawn up in petty worry. She'd often truly wondered just what type of person the unshakeable commando was drawn to. What kind of woman could steal his heart away? She knew the man to be slightly promiscuous by nature. He wasn't exactly a stranger when it came to the back alley brothels and strip joints that bred on the surface of Pandora. But that had always seemed like…a front to the siren. The commando wasn't heartless and he certainly wasn't someone who didn't believe in love. But when it wasn't just a one night stand encounter…what got his pulse racing…

Maya selfishly found herself wondering if she would make the cut.

Maya cursed herself.

"What was she like?" Maya asked before she could really stop the question from coming off her curious tongue.

Axton seemed to tense just slightly, and then sighed.

"She was a helluva woman, I'll tell you that. Strong, brave…and way too good for me." Axton chuckled in almost a pained way, as if the words hurt to utter.

"What about you baby blue? Ever had a special someone?" Axton asked, quickly changing the subject.

Maya shook her head.

"I lived in an abbey my entire life…doesn't leave much room for relationships." Maya chuckled.

Axton smiled at the blue haired woman.

"No sneaking off and kissing boys behind the monk's back or what?" Axton chortled.

Maya grinned slyly.

"Well I didn't say that." She chuckled.

"Oh? Are we sharing dirty secrets now huh darlin'?" Axton joked.

Maya pursed her lips together.

"Sorry I'm afraid I don't kiss and tell stud." The young woman replied with a soft smile.

Axton snorted in response.

"You're no fun." Axton teased.

Maya merely smiled in response as she turned on her side, facing the commando this time, the presence of jovial conversation making her seem to forget the booming storm outside. Her fears dissipated in the presence of her comrade.

Axton observed her with intelligent, half lidded eyes. The way he looked at her was slow and easy, a certain fire glistening through his pupils that instantly sent Maya's pulse into a wild fit. She could nearly hear her heart thundering against her ribs, even over the noise of the storm. These moments of tension between them had been ignored since their very first meeting. Times when their eyes would meet, and there was a type of unexpected flame behind both their gazes. There were so many small touches that proved to be just slightly more than friendly. But Maya refused to address them. She refused to admit the way her stomach seemed to twist when she was faced with being this close to the other vault hunter.

Axton paused, met with that telltale strain between them once more. The attraction that he'd buried a long time ago. Convincing himself that pursuing anything with the siren would be a terrible idea had kept him from the temptation. But faced with her so close, big grey eyes looking to him in almost an expectant way…it caused his heart to nearly ache. Right and wrong seemed so far away as the moment consumed them both. Exchanged expressions were nervous, unsure, and timid.

Before either one of them could really process what action to take next, Axton turned toward the siren, a heavy palm coming to slide up the tender slope of her neck. She did not flinch at the touch, she did not shy away.

Axton's lips gently pressed against hers', the advancement nervous in the way it was carried out. He kissed slow, and soft, the siren arching her neck into the motion without reserve. The display of affection quickly became far more insistent as the commando tilted Maya's head back just slightly, his fingers burying in soft blue tendrils.

Just as suddenly as it had started, Axton pulled back, a distressed expression dancing across his features.

"I uh…I'm sorry…I don't know what got into me." He apologized quickly.

Maya could feel the pink warmth spreading down from her cheeks to the spans of her neck, her hands having found home pressed against Axton's chest.

Without another word the siren pushed herself into the commando, her mouth covering his in a way that was sloppy and absolutely wanting. Axton's left palm unsurely rested on the dip of Maya's hip, fingers gripping the material of her uniform just a little less than gently. The kiss deepened, mouths parting to tongues and teeth, hearts racing, and eyes closed. Maya arched herself against the solid mass of muscle before her, smiling when the movement gathered a small rumble of a groan from the blonde's chest.

Maya pulled away from the heated display for a moment, panting for breath and starry eyed as she stared at the commando.

She wanted with all her heart to be angry with herself. She wanted to ignore the flutter in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to bury the undeniable warmth spreading out through her lower half, that molten want that she could not possibly even begin to ignore. She hated him. She hated him, and his stupid face, and his perfect teeth and thin lips. She despised the three day old stubble decorating over his square chin. She detested how Pandora had carved the man into a powerhouse of rippling muscle, every part of him toned and cut, swells of strength that seemed so much bigger now that she was pressed firmly against him. She loathed the way his mouth fit so perfectly against hers', and she was distressed with just how good of a kisser the dirty blonde seemed to be.

Before she could address all the other aspects of the man that she wanted to abhor, his lips were molding against hers' once more, a strong arm wrapping around her and pulling her even tighter to his warmth. The commando was lost in her plump pillows for several moments, his eyebrows pressed together in utter concentration, his hands becoming less timid in their exploration. His wanting maw then moved from the temptation of her lips to pamper down her jaw, traveling to the sensitive anatomy of her ear, taking the soft lobe between his teeth gently.

A desperate sound slid its way through Maya's teeth, something so soft and so sweet it had Axton nearly melting.

The sound wrapped around him like silk, constraining his being and making his head swim.

The commando's stubble scraped against the tender skin of her throat as he traced a path downward, placing an excess of patient, warm kisses there. Maya sighed out at the slow worship the man was laying upon her, her lids falling closed heavily as she allowed herself to sink into Axton's touch.

He made his way down to the hem of Maya's uniform, where the material hugged tight to her collar, his teeth worrying the clothing just slightly. In a slow movement his mouth was back on the siren's, hungry to taste her, starving with deep want. Maya's fingers slid through his short cropped locks, nails dragging over scalp as Axton not so gently bit down on her lower lip.

They parted momentarily, eyes soaking in each other's breathless expressions.

"Where did you learn to kiss like that?" Maya sniggered through labored breaths.

"Promethea." Axton grinned as he pressed his warm lips against her ear, the words dripping over her senses like heavy syrup.

Maya shuddered as his breath poured down her throat, hot and heavy with dreadful intentions.

The heat between them escalated with each needy touch and every heavy breath. Suddenly the siren was painfully aware of just how viciously _hot_ she was. Her uniform suddenly felt like a constraining trap, tight and uncomfortable as it clung to her. She was so desperate to have it off of her. She needed to free herself of the clothing. Her frantic hands quickly went to the zipper of her top, drawing it down with well practiced hands and peeling it open in one fluid motion.

Axton's eyes seemed to widen in instant enthuse.

He hadn't really decided where this strange and unexpected turn of events had been headed…but it was now tremendously clear where the siren seemed to want it to go. She took control of the situation just as she did with everything else. Axton often wanted to think he was in charge of the misfit band of vault hunters…but if he was going to be blatantly honest with himself he knew Maya was really the one calling the shots. She always had a backup plan when Axton's failed. She was strong, quick, and so gracefully intelligent it had Axton's heart stalling in place.

He'd never thought in a all his days alive he'd be so entangled in the powerful siren, their arms thrown around each other, his hands blindly helping her out of her uniform top.

Dream or reality he never wanted this moment to end.

There was the soft thud of her clothing on the wooden floor beside them, the abandoned material joining Axton's uniform pants in the growing heap. Axton's palms boldly found their way down the length of Maya's slender form, digits working apart her thick belt and sliding it out of its' loops. Maya's fingers were there to help him when he got lost amongst her trying clasps, a smile breaking gently across her slender lips.

"What's the matter, never undone a ladies pants before big guy?" Maya teased, her eyes dark with arousal and amusement.

Axton only grunted in response and hushed her with a needy kiss. After several stumbling moments he finally got her zipper drawn down and pried her overly tight pants open. Maya aided him by quickly shoving the clothing down over her thighs, clumsily wriggling out of the cumbersome garments and nearly kneeing Axton in the crotch.

"Watch the family jewels darlin'." Axton hissed as he narrowly avoided the punishing blow from the siren's knee.

Maya smirked sheepishly and gave the commando an apologetic look.

"Sorry." She managed to pant as she shoved her clothing out of the mouth of the sleeping bag.

Axton's arms encircled the woman before him, thumbs pressing against untouched, bare skin appreciatively. Maya could feel herself flush as the blonde descended down the length of her, mouth coming to her exposed breasts before hungrily covering her right nipple. She couldn't force down the gasp that came so forcefully from her lungs as the contact was made. Her fingers gripped the vault hunter's shoulders, nails biting into hard muscle without reserve.

Axton's tongue danced well practiced patterns over her supple bud, coaxing the anatomy to hardness beneath his influences. The siren bowed into him readily, her apex pressing flush to his abdomen as she tucked her thigh between his legs, only bringing them closer to one another. His palms traced over her skin, mouth still painstakingly busy with her healthy breasts, and he filled each hand with the plump flesh of her rear.

Her eyelids barely parted as her grey irises peered out at the man before her. Axton seemed lost in her, absolutely drowning in everything that she had to offer. He looked as if he was seeing the night sky for the very first time…like he was just experiencing the stars and the sultry glow of Elpis.

His smile was slow and lopsided, something that belonged on a cheeky little boy that was plotting something rotten. His green eyes had never looked more enticing to the young woman. She supposed she'd never really allowed herself to get lost in them. She'd never wanted to give herself that luxury. If she looked too long she was afraid she might just fall under his spell. Now she really didn't much care what magic the broad man might cast upon her. She wanted nothing more than to be completely enveloped in his charms.

"You're so beautiful." Axton breathed suddenly, as if he'd wanted to say that phrase for far too long.

The words came out like a sigh of relief.

Maya felt her throat tighten as she phrase collided with her, doe eyes wide and glossy as she stared at him. Finally the blue haired woman's lips upturned into one of the most brilliantly genuine smiles Axton had ever seen on her. Her eyes lit up brilliantly and her cheeks painted gorgeously red, as if Axton had just given her the very world.

Maya had been called many things in her lifetime. She'd been called powerful, she'd been called a goddess, she been called a monster. She had been called hostile, she been called dangerous, she'd been called a killer.

Beautiful was not one of the things she was called often.

The word rung out through her like a chiming bell, bounding off her bones and echoing in her ears.

Axton brushed a strand of the woman's blue locks out of her eyes and gently pressed his lips against her flushed forehead in a genuine display of affection that had Maya's stomach erupting with untamed butterflies.

Wandering fingers brushed over her exposed hip, drawing gentle circles over the tender skin, each time moving closer to the meet of Maya's trembling thighs. The anticipation blossomed out through Maya's every nerve, her pupils blown, the back of her neck flushed warm.

The wind gave a low howl of power, the old structure groaning under its strength, causing the two vault hunters to pause and look skyward.

"Wouldn't that be just our luck if this stupid thing came crashing down on us right now?" Maya sniggered breathlessly.

Axton's brows pushed together in an un-amused fashion.

"Don't even joke like that darlin'." Axton snarled.

Axton focused his attention on siren once more, kissing along the defined line of her collarbone while his fingers roamed across the sensitive inside of her right thigh. Maya hissed and clenched her teeth as his rough fingers just barely brushed over the erogenous zone. Her skin sparked with the fire that Axton was setting there, heat building in the pit of her lower half without so much as being addressed yet.

His fingers were large and calloused, not the hands of someone who'd necessarily had an easy go at life. They were the hands of a man that had used them for less than honorable deeds. They were hands that had reloaded hundreds of weapons, hands that had fixed his precious turret time and time again, hands that had broken bones and hugged friends. Blood had been spilled on those hands far more times than the commando was willing to admit. Those hands had crushed windpipes and torn open wounds. Those hands had beaten and bruised. Those hands had done what had been needed to survive.

But they were hands that had once known how to be gentle.

They were hands that had nearly forgotten what if felt like to hold such a gorgeously strong woman.

I had been a hell of a long time…

Pandora left little room for anything else than sloppy one night stands.

He'd grown tired of the disgusting little hole in the wall strip joints the dirty planet had to offer. When he'd first arrived on the hellhole of a planet he'd been nursing the wounds of his failed marriage. He'd drowned himself in booze and women. An excess of blondes, brunettes, offworlders and natives. But they'd just been…time wasters. Things to get his mind off of the life he'd left behind. None of them had really meant much, and quickly he'd grown tired of their company. It was too hollow, too fake.

He'd just lived day to day, collecting bounties and spending it on company that he couldn't have cared less about. Then he'd heard the radio advertisement glamorizing being a Vault Hunter. It had promised riches, glory, fame…and he'd been sold. He'd left the sleazy bars and whores behind and had gotten aboard that fateful train.

He'd never forget that moment, the very second he'd stepped aboard, a lone pack holding every belonging he had to his name strapped to his back…and there she'd been. She'd been leaned across two train seats, a book in her hand and a gun in her lap. Blue tendrils framed her slender face as grey eyes darted across the pages of her paperback book, its edges curled upward with far too much use.

It had taken her several moments to even notice his company, but when she finally had, those powerful eyes had landed on him and Axton was pretty sure he'd stopped breathing. She didn't look like she belonged on the rugged planet. She was too perfect, to delicate, too fragile.

Axton had cleared his throat and plopped himself down in the row of seats behind her. He'd audibly heard her sigh as he'd sat down, which peaked his interest even more.

"Heya darlin', now what is a pretty little thing like you doin' on a shithole planet like this?" Axton had chuckled leaning his elbow on the back of her seat.

Maya had scrunched up her nose, wafting in the telltale scents of booze that still clung to the man now making himself at home in her personal space.

"Wanted to see what this vault hunter business was all about, same as you." Maya had said in a dry tone, only looking up from her reading material for a few seconds.

Axton had snorted in a surprised tone and gave her a curious look.

"Why do you seem so surprised? Girl's can't be vault hunters or what?" Maya had snarled narrowing her eyes at the blonde haired man.

Axton had raised his hands up defensively, shaking his head quickly.

"Not sayin' that at all darlin'! You just er…you don't look much like a vault hunter baby blue." Axton had chuckled.

In a flick of the sirens wrist she had phase locked the gun settled on Axton's hip and tossed it across the train nonchalantly, smashing the hearty weapon with little effort.

Axton had frozen, too shocked to even be angered that the stranger of a woman had just smashed his favorite pistol into a million little pieces like it was made of glass.

"Did I mention I'm a siren?" Maya had said simply, her slender hands turning the page in a completely relaxed fashion.

Axton had scolded himself for being so obnoxiously stupid and had held his hand out to the siren.

"Well. Pleasure to meet you baby blue, names Axton." He'd said with a grin.

Maya had only offered him a slight half smile and nodded toward him, leaving his offering of a handshake unanswered.

"Maya." She'd said simply.

"And don't call me baby blue." She'd followed up as she'd gone back to reading.

From that moment on, Axton could never really shake his impossible fascination with the woman. She was an untamed enigma that captured his attention like a hopeless moth drawn to the flame. He was caught in her gravitational pull and he could do nothing but burn up in her atmosphere.

Now here he was… faced with every wild fantasy he'd ever thought up. But it was so very, very real.

Maya's slim fingers wrapped around to his thick shoulders, running over the jagged scars that decorated over the span of his sun-kissed skin. Medals of Honor earned from far too many battles, both ones won and ones lost.

Axton nestled his thumb just beneath the tight fabric of her panties, feeling the radiating warmth from between her slender thighs.

In one swift motion he was rolling the tiny undergarments downward, far too eager to allow them to keep him from his prize a moment longer.

She bucked against him as his teasing fingers finally found their way between her thighs, just barely caressing over her moist folds, sliding along her swollen lips. The simple touch alone had her coming alive against him, his digits soft in their exploration, tenderly coming to circle around her sensitive bundle of nerves, never pressing hard enough for the sensations to be too intense.

He buried his gruff chin in the dip of her neck, feeling her swallow against his lips as he teased and caressed her clit affectionately. Maya's head tipped backward as her nails clawed little divots into the commando's skin. Axton gently dipped his index finger into the beginnings of her want, finding her dripping and ready, his digit sliding in with little resistance, exploring the new flesh. She was tight, her silken walls instantaneously squeezing around the intrusion, gathering a completely helpless groan from Axton's core.

" _Axton…"_ She whispered, the sound so soft against the noise from the merciless wind.

Axton drank up the resonance of his own name on her pretty lips, never realizing just how gorgeous it would actually come across. He was desperate for her as he indulged in her warm mouth, kissing hard and deep.

Maya's slender palm trace down the swells of Axton's abdomen, playing gently in the coarse hairs leading from his naval down below the hem of his boxers. The thin, ragged material of his undergarments did little to hide his arousal, the outline of his cock straining against the old fabric. Axton made an utterly embarrassing noise when Maya's palm wrapped gently around the breadth of his cock, softly stroking him through the barrier of his boxers.

His neck seemed to weaken as she twisted her fingers just slightly, coming to his head and squeezing gently. Axton nearly purred into her throat as her thumb ran over his slit, the siren becoming instantly aware of the damp patch of moisture seeping through the threadbare clothing. His finger curled within her as she offered him the unbridled pleasure, the two of them breathing into one another heavily.

Suddenly Axton retracted his finger from her warmth, hastily shoving his boxers down his strong hips. He allowed them to get lost somewhere in the bottom of the sleeping bag as his full attention went toward getting his undershirt up over his head.

With that Axton was shifting their entanglement of arms and legs, looming over Maya's slighter form, laying several kisses over her soft shoulder. Maya loosely hung her arms around the thick of Axton's neck, her back arching off the sleeping bag, purposely rubbing her apex against the large man's erection. Axton rumbled with appreciation, one hand coming to grip Maya's hip harshly.

The two exhaled in unison as Axton pressed his blunt head against her opening, entering her with a slow push of his hips. Maya let her mouth fall open in a silent oval as he stretched her, his cock being far bigger than anything she could confidently say she'd taken before. She pressed a palm against Axton's chest to still him from pushing farther for a moment.

" _You're really big and it's been a while…"_ She hissed pointedly.

Axton grinned wide and pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth.

"Oh?" Axton sniggered.

"Don't let that go to your head." Maya snarled.

"Too late darlin'." Axton whispered darkly.

He allowed her to adjust for what felt like the better part of an eternity, the two of them simply panting into each other, exchanging passionate kisses as their bodies became accustomed to one another. Axton gently added several more inches and was met with an appreciative moan from the woman beneath him. Axton backed out slightly and rocked his hips forward, burying himself to the hilt within her warm confines.

He was pretty sure he'd never felt anything like it. She was tight and wet around him, velvety smooth as she incased his massive cock, her muscles squeezing tight as she hooked her ankles around his hips. The sleeping bag was little padding beneath them as Axton found his pace quickly, the old wood digging into Maya's thin shoulders roughly.

She paid the discomfort little mind, too wrapped up in her partner to really care.

The storm became a far off thought as their bodies came together, hands frantic and lips even more so. Axton's heavy breaths kissed at Maya's ear pleasantly as he pumped into her with purpose.

It had been so long since she'd allowed herself to come undone like this. It had been so long since she'd been entwined in such an act. She'd nearly forgotten just how vibrant and exciting it all was. This was viciously more intense than the last time she'd experienced such a thing. This was far more wondrous. Her body ran with warmth, with need, like electricity forming out through her very being.

Axton prayed the siren's name into her hair, his eyes screwing shut as he lost himself in her. Her hair smelled faintly of gunpowder and soap as he nestled his nose there, drinking in her scent dazedly.

His digits quickly gravitated to her core once more, drawing quick little circles over her clit.

The movements between them were erratic and sloppy, all the tension that had built in the months previous finally coming untangled in such an unexpected turn of events. Out in the cold, so far away from prying eyes there was nothing else that mattered but the moment at hand. Every panting breath, every hard touch, every frantic press of skin against skin, it all came undone like a thunderclap.

Axton whispered soft praises to the siren as he fucked into her, his eyes heavy and his mind melting down into a useless thing. Maya simply allowed herself to fall into his clutches, all her walls crashing down in a few short moments. She let it all fall away in favor of trusting the man atop her, letting him come into her space and bring her the unbridled pleasure that she so very much craved.

His fingers were talented and witty as they coaxed her to the very edge of her pleasure, her muscles tensing with the overwhelming sensation.

She came unfastened around him with a vault of her back and a desperate declaration of his name, her inner walls clasping around his cock without her control. The reverberations of orgasm spread through her mercilessly, her brain unable to grasp onto anything for several short, glorious seconds. It was so violent as it crashed through her, something built over so much time, something so helpless and unhindered. She wanted to feel embarrassed that she'd been unraveled by his hands so very easily, but she wasn't.

It all felt so right, so safe.

Axton's breath was rough and sporadic, coming in a ragged, uneven pattern as he moved against her, brought nearly to his knees as she flexed around him with her glorious finish. He'd known from the very beginning that he wouldn't be able to hold out for long, but with his partner brought to her much needed end, he allowed himself to spiral downward right behind her.

Axton's face screwed into a look of utter satisfaction as his hips stuttered forward several more times before he met his own end. He moaned out pitifully as his cock swelled within her before expelling in several hard bursts. Maya sighed and rocked against the blonde's hips, basking in the feeling of him filling her with his pleasure. His erection flexed within her tight space as Axton sagged on top of her, his expression finally relaxing as the aftermaths of orgasm rolled through him.

Maya panted beneath the commando, her heavy eyes closed as she gently brushed her fingers down his arm.

Axton collapsed beside the siren, still snugly fitted inside of her as he draped his arms around her spent form.

It was many moments before words seemed to come to the two of them.

"D-Don't you dare tell the others about this…" Maya huffed tiredly as Axton rested his chin on her shoulder.

Axton grinned against her porcelain skin.

"I don't kiss and tell either baby blue." Axton muttered tiredly.

He paused and then seemed to realize he'd accidentally used the ridiculous nickname once more.

"Er, I mean Maya." He corrected quickly.

Maya smiled slowly, tired fingers playing in Axton's dirty blonde locks lazily.

"No…I kind of like it." Maya whispered thoughtfully.

Axton grinned wide and kissed her skin tenderly.

"My beautiful baby blue." He whispered softly


End file.
